wordbird

I rolled the pink origami paper into the Royal typewriter (here's a totally extraneous fact: it's from Montreal) and it flew out as this angular swan. Paper: in; out: bird. I made this for the beautiful Leah, once and not too long ago, when we lived in Austin and worked at the research lab together. Now, the storyswan has roosted, appropriately, in a darkened crevice on one of our joint bookcases, surrounded by the solid warmth of wood and words.

Yes, as for this matter of words. For this little PhD thing I am beginning to pursue, I discovered that I have to retake the GRE, as it has been over five years since my last exam (it has been six). We went to a languishing, sickly Borders and picked up some study guides. Thus, I have made vocabulary flash cards and am currently wading through the murky swamps of the analogy section. On the plus side, I feel smarter than I did six years ago, way more well-read at least. Perhaps not smarter but maybe wiser. Ah, if I can recall correctly back to my days of (more serious) geekdom, in the game Dungeons and Dragons, a character had both the attributes of Intelligence and Wisdom. This symbiotic distinction is groundshakingly relevant.

I think a bike ride is order too when a break from the studies comes. The whole wind-in-hair notion is good for clearing the mind; [insert additional flying/cycling comparison here and call it a day].

One final note, my friend itchythumbs did an around-the-house bird blip today too; check it out, subscribe, float away.